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[FinalAres]

You're given the task of creating an remastered re-release of Final Fantasy XIII, and you're given the resources to make some adjustments to the game. Enough that you can make changes roughly equivalent to other FF 'international' re-releases. What would you do to significantly improve XIII? Try and keep it vaguely realistic.

So previous things that international or similar re-releases have done include:
-Significant gameplay upgrades, like the job system in XII, or the ability to use nearly all characters in IV.
-Quality of life improvements, such as the game speed increase in XII, or boosters is VII-X
-Graphical upgrades. Lighting, textures, anti aliasing, simple model upgrades.
-Content, like superbosses in VII and X, or entire dungeons like in IV, V and VI Advance.

So for me the first thing I'd do is make it possible to travel back to lots of previous zones by adding in more c'ieth stones, and add in lots more hunts. That way it's be a little less straight line-y.

I'd also add in settlements into the various areas in XIII. Not towns as that'd be too much work, but simple groups of people with the odd sidequests.

Finally I'd give you more stuff to do in Nautilus.

P.s. Reason I'm writing this is because I totally expect a remaster in 2 years.

 

[Rhiwion]

Cancel it.

 

[LordKano]

I don't think FFXIII issues can be solved with an international-like of remaster. You'd need to rework the entire game, its structure.

 

[Synless]

Cancel it.

Worst first post.

 

[Soulflarz]

Sadly the key issues with ff13 aren't like 10s balance or 12s board, you'd need to redo the combat system or levels to fix people's complaints.

 

[Asd202]

Cancel it.

.

 

[rtcn63]

Make everyone in the game a silent protagonist

 

[AlexFlame116]

Add extra bosses, secret dungeons, music player.

Also a yandere Toriyama boss battle.

EDIT: Switchable leaders in parties. Don't get a game over when your character dies but the others are still alive.

 

[pbayne]

Cancel it.

perfect

 

[Hasney]

Say it's a great opportunity for one of the up and coming directors and work on something else. It's issues are far, far too deep to save it.

 

[Ray Down]

Don't do it at all.

 

[Amneisac]

The FFXIII hate on this board is so hyperbolic.

 

[Lights and Waves]

- Use the XIII-2 battle system
- Insert the Nabat boss battle from XIII-2
- Insert more exposition cutscenes where characters spell things out for players with small attention spans. "So Lightning, what you're saying is that l'Cie are people that have been branded and that a focus is the mission they must completely or else they'll turn into a monster?" Stuff like that
- More cutscenes about the mythos of the game

 

[Iva Demilcol]

Cancel it.

Don't do it at all.

I was about to post the same thing.

 

[Bass260]

You would need to make a radically different game to solve many of XIII's shortcomings. The best you can do is fix some of the pacing issues.

 

[Hasney]

-
- Insert more exposition cutscenes where characters spell things out for players with small attention spans. "So Lightning, what you're saying is that l'Cie are people that have been branded and that a focus is the mission they must completely or else they'll turn into a monster?" Stuff like that
- More cutscenes about the mythos of the game

So even less gameplay? Fuck me, stick a knife in it's corpse.

 

[Mael]

Might as well ask how to direct an international version of Metroid Other M to try to salvage the project!
I don't think it can be done without making it significantly different.

 

[Neifirst]

Sadly the key issues with ff13 aren't like 10s balance or 12s board, you'd need to redo the combat system or levels to fix people's complaints.

I was under the impression that the combat system in Final Fantasy XIII was the one thing that most people liked. Well, I did at least! It did take far too long for everything to unlock though...

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

Cancel it.

Thread derailment already

 

[Lights and Waves]

So even less gameplay? Fuck me, stick a knife in it's corpse.

...where did I say to remove gameplay?

 

[Kyoufu]

Unfortunately, FFXIII's main issues cannot be fixed or improved without a complete redesign of the game which would not be possible with an International type of re-release.

FFXIII will just have to take the L.

 

[Hellraider]

This probably sounds like a joke but one of the first things I'd fix would be the map. Shit was useless since you couldn't check between the area transitions. It's amazing how in a game that was more than 90% a straight line I was always confused when it came to where I was and where I wanted to go.

This would be my first $50 of my budget.

 

[Hasney]

...where did I say to remove gameplay?

Well I'm spending more time out of it with a terrible cast of characters talking at me rather than playing. Less was a bad word, but a higher ratio of bullshit essentially.

 

[Canucked]

A few new dungeons. The battle system is good (really the better part of the game) so don't touch it. Maybe make some of the bosses base on the lore so you can get a good idea of the history. Delete Vanillle completely.

 

[Mael]

I was under the impression that the combat system in Final Fantasy XIII was the one thing that most people liked. Well, I did at least! It did take far too long for everything to unlock though...

How do you even solve this to begin with?
It's far too complicated to be unlocked right off the bat and it's tied to events in the game.
You're not solving the pacing without touching the combat system.

 

[Shifty]

Use the LR battle system.

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

Use the Xiii-2 battle system.

Fixed Xp

 

[HabeeNo]

Cancel it.

LOL

 

[AlexFlame116]

Cancel it.

Ouch

 

[DR2K]

Rework the first 10 hours of the game. So that it's a game and not a corrider/tutorial. Just rework entire areas and maps. Add towns. Combine 13-2 and 13-3 into one game. Replace Lightning with Lenneth Valkyrie because space

 

[AzureFlame]

The road to Gran Pulse is bigger and has great amount of cities and exploration and side quests, and you can go back there anytime.

You can change and control party memebers in battle.

That all it needs for me.

Edit: and a better way to make money.

 

[ZangBa]

I wouldn't know where to even begin to fix this mess, just scrap it.

 

[Hasney]

Use the LR battle system.

Now there's a good battle system. Now only the story, characters, locations, voice acting and how it's massive slog all the way through to fix.

 

[almostjuliuscaesar]

I don't think FFXIII issues can be solved with an international-like of remaster. You'd need to rework the entire game, its structure.

Agreed

 

[Neifirst]

How do you even solve this to begin with?
It's far too complicated to be unlocked right off the bat and it's tied to events in the game.
You're not solving the pacing without touching the combat system.

You're right of course about the interplay of the story and combat roles becoming available, I just meant that the combat system itself was perfectly fine. XIII-2's was equally good. Shame that the characters weren't all that great. Still enjoyed the games for what they were!

 

[Drillary Clinton]

I'd play a XIII remaster. Would like some more of that combat. Add the ability to skip cutscenes so I don't have to watch that garbage story.

Cancel it.

Lmao

 

[BasilZero]

Cancel it.

lmao!

 

[RRockman]

Cancel it.

 

[Monochromaticx]

delete the code.

 

[Yazuka]

Remove the game over if Lightning dies, the game would continue until the other characters you have in your party died.
I would love to see the battlesystem get a total makeover and remove the need to change fighting styles. A simpler more compact version of what it is now. But keep the original in, for those who liked it.

 

[Zafir]

Sadly the key issues with ff13 aren't like 10s balance or 12s board, you'd need to redo the combat system or levels to fix people's complaints.

I mean I'd argue XII isn't really fixed that much by the international edition. It still features awful pacing and a combat system not everyone likes (much like XIII).

Fact is XII, XIII and XV are all pretty flawed games. =/

 

[TGO]

Add new areas to the game that have a bit freedom with quests and other stuff to do like hunting and get rid of the 50 hour hand holding, and change the weapon upgrade system.

 

[MechaX]

Yeah, a lot of XIII's issues would take massive overhauls to the game, but if I had unlimited resources:

- Add scenes at the beginning of the game fully explaining not just L'Cie and Fal'Cie, but also what the fuck the deal is with Pulse v. Cocoon from the onset. It just blows my mind that the series had three fucking games and yet the war with Pulse is still mostly an enigma.
- Probably just rewrite the last third of the game entirely. The party being "Let's just do everything the evil God tells us to do and pray for an Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary at the end for everything to work out" just does not cut it. After Chapter 11, the party is just jumping from place to place literally leveling up.

Spoiler

If you need additional story, just make Jihl and Rosch enemy L'Cie so the party actually has more of an antagonist than an old pope that tries to ape Emperor Palpatine every few hours.

- Actually, just insert the Jihl boss fight from XIII whole sale. There is no reason that she should have went out like she did.
- Import XIII-2's QOL battle system changes into XIII (red health, better camera angles, no more slow Paradigm Shifts).
- Completely revamp the paradigm system to something at least like the Sphere Grid where character paths are not only unique, but you have some incentive for venturing off into alternate level paths. Or even the License Board in Zodiac Age (but if you're going to do that, make sure you can swap between party members mid-battle). In the latter's case, you have an incentive to use all of the party members.
- Give us actual optional dungeons (likely on Gran Pulse).
- Give us more optional bosses as opposed to palette swap enemies found in the Cieth missions. Actually make Titan a boss.
- Just scrap the weapon leveling system entirely. Too many people were just holding onto default weapons until the "optimal" weapon came up 30 hours into the game and just poured all resources into that. Just go back to the basics for this one.
- For the love of fucking God, don't make Adamantoise farming the the only way to get real endgame equipment.

 

[Stumpokapow]

I really don't think anything that's wrong with the game can be fixed by a remaster, but I'd start with an entire script re-write in English first, focusing on removing jargon and yelling and anime. I'd remove Vanille entirely, maybe Fang and Hope also. I would remove the terms l'Cie and fal'Cie. I'd probably scrap everything about the game after chapter 7 or so, plot wise. I'd tone down literally every character. I'd redesign every character to make them look like humans (Lightning looks fine, just needs a rewrite, everyone else is a mess) I'd add humour and levity instead of making the game so dour the whole time. Then I'd do an entire rewrite of the game's flow from beginning to end, focusing on realizing the world and adding towns, side quests, dialogue, and worldbuilding. I'd also make the game go non-linear far earlier than it does. For the battle system I'd probably just clean up the UI by standardizing fonts and making them more legible and overall reducing the amount of feedback the game gives you. I'd introduce weapon upgrading earlier and make the system for it clearer.

 

[Lelou]

Cancel it.

O well.. That's it..

 

[Angel_DvA]

I quit my function.

 

[Gunslinger]

From what I recall there isn't much to do in FF13. One thing I remember was farming those turtles for ultimate weapons. If you put speed boost in that game it will be over in less than 20 hours I think.

 

[Soul of the Beast]

Make every character look generic, souless, immature, ''badass'' so it will sell much better in the US.

Americans love their generic looking characters.

''Look at me, I am so mean, so badass.''

 

[BassForever]

Trying to keep as much of the original game intact without completely redoing the whole game

I'd add a 10-15 hour opening where you play through the 13 days before where the game actually begins. During it I'd have Lightning go on missions that enabled her to see a large chunk of the world of cocoon, letting the player get a feel for the origin of the world, the mythos behind it, and the brewing conflict between the government and the resistance movement. These new areas would be open like 13-2 and would further introduce new characters along with slowly introducing the player to who the core 6 will be. I'd introduce characters to the 6 classes during the first 2-3 hours so that Lightning and her squad of 2-3 new characters would be able to do the full combat class shifting stuff much quicker. Then after the actual game's opening once everyone became l'cie the players would still have full access to all classes with all characters, but like xii zodiac job system you'd be able to diversify the 6 classes to help make the characters feel even more different.

During the party split "20 hours of linear corridors" I'd break up all those sections with returns to the above mentioned new open areas, where plot lines introduced would either resolve or continue. During these scenes the characters Lightning helped would either help the fleeing convicts or attempt to turn them in, additionally Lightning's old team would hunt down the party as loyalist.

The above would also expand the role of characters like Nabaat and Cid, the former would also not die to Dysley so unceremoniously. Finally when the party escapes to gran pulse, a bunch of the resistance or people you helped along the way would end up their as well. This would give theme to the dozens of hunt quest you can do there and would serve to tie up their story lines.

 

[OrionX]

Include a secret ending that teases XIII-4.